Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. LPL Financial accounts for approximately 1.4% of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $21,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 195.1% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,304,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,846,000 after purchasing an additional 105,665 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.8% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 2,319.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $340.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $362.22 and a 200-day moving average of $353.41. The company has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $219.13 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company’s revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.21%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total transaction of $507,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,959,260.20. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $490.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.54.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.